Riley FBR is preparing to bring together ideas with opportunity at its 5th Annual Consumer and Media Conference this fall in New York. The event is slated to be held at the SOFITEL on October 3, 2019, and will provide a platform for companies across the consumer, leisure, media and entertainment sectors to showcase their stories to institutional, corporate and high-net-worth investors. “Now in its fifth year, our Consumer and Media Conference has become an established venue for idea exchange and uncovering proprietary investment opportunities for this unique sector,” Andy Moore, CEO of B. Riley FBR, said in the release. “Our rigorous research process and corporate access events provide a rich networking forum for companies to share their stories with quality investors, and we look forward to hosting a great event for our attendees in New York this fall.”

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WASHINGTON — The United States and China traded conciliatory gestures, raising hopes they can deescalate a standoff over trade that has shaken financial markets and cast gloom over the global economy. In Beijing, China's Commerce Ministry said Thursday that Chinese importers are asking U.S. suppliers for prices of soybeans, pork and other farm goods. It's a sign they might step up purchases of American agricultural products, a possible goodwill gesture ahead of talks next month aimed at ending the tariff war. The statement from China followed President Donald Trump's decision Wednesday to postpone a planned tariff hike on Chinese imports...

NEW YORK — Runway met Broadway when The Blonds took to the stage of the splashy musical "Moulin Rouge." With the help of Billy Porter, who performed two songs, the ever-theatrical design duo stuck to the musical's theme, focused on a cabaret, and stayed true to their risque style Monday for the New York Fashion Week show. After an opening number by performers from "Moulin Rouge," Phillipe Blond descended from the ceiling in a bedazzled jumpsuit, matching moto jacket and long, blond locks. They dressed models in corsets, bustier tops, lace catsuits (worn by men and women alike) and stiletto...

PARIS — The United Nations' cultural agency says reconstruction of Al-Nouri Mosque in Iraq's old city of Mosul is scheduled to start at the beginning of next year. UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay says rebuilding the landmark mosque once famous for its leaning minaret is part of ambitious plans to stimulate culture and revive ravaged Mosul. Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared an Islamic caliphate from the mosque in 2014. IS militants blew it up as Iraqi troops neared in 2017. Iraq's culture minister and other Iraqi officials were with Azoulay in Paris on Wednesday as she discussed the...

BEIJING — China is launching a nationwide initiative to boost pork production following a price spike blamed on a devastating outbreak of African swine fever. Authorities said Wednesday that the government will take steps to accelerate the revival of hog production, prevent and control the disease and upgrade farms to further ensure pork supply and stable prices. Peng Shaozong of the National Development and Reform Commission said government agencies will closely monitor and analyze pork prices, stabilize production and regulate the market price. Pork prices surged 46.7% in August from a year earlier, adding 1.08 percentage points to a 2.8...

DENVER — Several Democratic presidential candidates are running on a promise to ban fracking and stepping on unstable political ground as they do so. Must-win Pennsylvania has gotten an economic boost from fracking, the technique used by the energy industry to extract oil and gas from rock. The procedure is also vital in swing state Colorado and in the Democrats' dream state of Texas, the headquarters of the energy industry. Fracking has become steadily less popular as worries about the side effects of the energy extraction technique have increased. It's been linked to water contamination, air pollution and even earthquakes....